Where in Southwest Florida has best-tasting drinking water? Here’s what judges said.
One of the judges called it “the Lord’s work,” taking water from the ground or lake and making it fit to drink for the area’s growing population.
Friday, judges put the drinking water from six regional utilities to the taste, color, clarity and odor test.
Four judges each had six cups of water to taste, sniff, and eyeball. It was a blind test with each cup identified only by a letter of the alphabet.
There seemed to be divergent opinions on which water was best.
Judge George Kruse, a Manatee County commissioner, gave all fives — the top score — to one cup of water, while Tara Polton of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, gave top marks to another.
“One of the six really stood out to me,” Poulton said.
On the low side of her evaluation, was a water sample really strong in chlorine, Poulton said.
Mandi Rice of the Southwest Florida Water Management District was the ultimate diplomat.
“It was tough to compare them. I would consider a glass of any of them to be nice tap water,” Rice said.
The fourth judge, Ethan Greenbaum, a middle school student from North Port, said he had a hard time picking a favorite from the six cups he sampled.
For the record, Punta Gorda’s drinking water was judged the best on Friday at the competition held at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing at Lakewood Ranch.
There were no runners-up or any other rankings in the competition hosted by American Water Works Association.
The competition has been held annually since 2021. The last time Manatee County’s drinking water took top honors was in 2012. Also taking part in the competition were Sarasota County, Charlotte County, Englewood and Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply.
Punta Gorda now moves on to the state competition, and if it wins there, will be entered in the national competition in San Antonio, Texas.
Beyond the competition, the purpose of Friday’s event was to acknowledge the hard work of utilities professionals who make sure safe drinking water is always available at homes across the region, said Terri Holcomb of the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority
With 10,000 new residents being added to Manatee County’s population annually, ensuring enough water to handle the growth is a critical need, Kruse said.
“We have as a region prepared for this growth and put ourselves in a good position,” Kruse sad.
The drinking water competition is designed to draw attention to the value of tap water and provide a fun way for local utility staffs to compete for bragging rights each year, said Richard Anderson, director of operations for the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority.
